"Every foot of ground was disputed, and only | stacles and dangers, the French army was sensibly yielded, on either side, when all means of resistance gaining ground... were exhausted; the smallest hillocks, the most inconsiderable hollows, were often taken and retaken several times. Repeated charges of cavalry were carried into execution; the field of battle was heaped with dead bodies; and the firing, instead of relaxing in the least, was increasing continually in violence. "The support of the two British wings being carried, we passed the ravine, and advanced amidst a deluge of balls and grape-shot. A strong column approached Mont St. Jean, whence a terrific fire was pouring. The French cavalry, at the same time, rushed to carry the guns on the plains, but was charged in its turn by the enemy's horse, who issued in a body from the hollows where they had lain in ambuscade, and the slaughter became terrible. Neither side receded one step; fresh columns reinforced them; the charge was repeated. Three times the French were on the point of forcing the positions, and three times they were driven back. "The combat was sustained on both sides with equal fury; the defence was as obstinate as the attack was impetuous. In a short time it was announced, that very strong columns were marching, the bayonet in front, upon Mont St. Jean, at the same time that the cavalry of the wings were to charge the batteries, which appeared to be but little protected. This grand movement, from the result of which so much might be expected, was impatiently waited for; but the obstinate perseverance of the English in maintaining their position in the villages which flanked their wings, retard-lington exposed himself considerably; and, in order ed it. "They successively sent battalions towards the farms of Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte, which were as frequently driven back by our cavalry; yet those villages, though pressed with unparalleled vigour, still defended themselves. Eager to drive the enemy from Hougoumont, who appeared resolved not to retire, we determined to set fire to it, at the same time sending a reinforcement against La Haye Sainte, which we carried after a most sanguinary contest. "The English artillery made dreadful havoc in our ranks: we were so completely exposed, that their rockets passed easily through all the lines, and fell in the midst of our equipage, which was placed behind on the road, and its environs. A number of shells also burst amongst them, and rendered it indispensable for the train to retire to a greater distance. This was not effected without considerable disorder, which was clearly perceived by the English. "These assaults, made without interruption, and with all the impetuosity which distinguishes the French, caused the enemy considerable loss, and obliged him to make the greatest efforts of resistance. Lord Wel to be able to direct all his means in person, threw himself frequently into the midst of the conflict, to show himself to his soldiers, and inspire them with confidence by his presence. The Prince of Orange, who was in the right wing, was wounded at the head of his troops. "If, however, witnesses, worthy of credit, may be believed, the English were very near being forced. It has also been confidently asserted, that the greatest disorder prevailed in their rear for some time, and that their carriages were made to retrograde precipitately, which filed on the Brussels road with great confusion, amidst a general panic. "But, be that as it will, it is not less certain, that they repulsed, with an insurmountable firmness, all our attempts, and succeeded in rendering them fruitless, by concealing from our observation the derangement and fears, which such furious attacks, so often and so obstinately repeated, certainly inspired. "At the same instant as they began to be sensibly alarmed, there was also in the French army a hesitation and evident uneasiness; some battalions that had been overthrown retreated; great numbers of wounded detached themselves from the columns, and spread ideas of the greatest uncertainty respecting the issue of the battle; and a profound silence had succeeded to the acclamations of the soldiers, who had made sure of victory. "Our artillery re-opened their fire with equal vivacity; but probably with much less effect, as their masses could only be levelled against by approximation, being almost entirely masked by the inequalities of the ground. The unremitting thunder of more than six hundred pieces of artillery; the fire of the battalions and light troops; the frequent explosion of caissons, blown up by shells which reached them; the hissing of balls and grape-shot; the clash of arms; the tumultuous roar of the charges, and shouts of the "With the exception of the infantry of the guard, soldiery-all created an effect of sound, which the the whole of the troops were seen to be exposed to the pen would in vain attempt to describe; and all this most murderous fire; the action was still kept up with within a narrow space, the two armies being close to the same violence, but without any important result. each other, and their respective lines contracted into "It was now near seven o'clock: Buonaparte, who the shortest possible length. However, in spite of ob-hitherto had remained where he was first stationed, and whence he could see all that passed, was contemplating, | new shock, in expectation of the arrival of Marsha with a ferocious aspect, the hideous spectacle of such Grouchy's divisions, which were continually anticipated; a horrid butchery. The more the difficulties increased, the report was even spread in the army that they were the more obstinate he was. He became angry at these already in line. unforeseen obstacles; and, far from fearing to push too far the trial of an army, whose confidence in him was unbounded, he continued to send fresh troops, and to give the orders to advance, to charge bayonet, to carry every thing. Several times he was informed that different points of the army were in a perilous situation; and that the troops appeared to give up: but his only answer was-Forward! forward! "One general sent him intelligence, that he was in a position which could not be kept, being mowed down by a battery. He asked of him, at the same time, what he should do to withdraw himself from the destructive fire of this battery. Storm it! he replied, and turned his back on the aide-de-camp. "A British officer, who was wounded, and a prisoner, was brought before him. He endeavoured to obtain some information from him, and asked, among other things, what was the force of the English army? The officer told him that it was very numerous, and that it had just received a reinforcement of sixty thousand men. So much the better,' said he; the more there are, the more we shall beat.' He sent off several estafettes with despatches, which he dictated to a secretary, and repeated several times, 'See that he does not forget to say every where that the victory is mine.' "It was at this epoch, and at the moment when all his enterprises had completely miscarried, that it was announced to him, that some Prussian columns had appeared on our right flank, and were menacing our rear; but he would not give any credit to this report, and replied several times, that these pretended Prussians were nothing else than the corps of Grouchy. He even sent back with ill-humour several of the aidesde-camp, who successively brought him these tidings. 'Go along,' said he, you have been frightened; approach without fear to the columns which have appeared, and you will be convinced that they are those of Grouchy.' "After so positive an answer, several of them, in confusion for their mistake, returned with confidence towards the Prussian advanced corps, and, notwithstanding the warm fire which these directed against them, approached so near as to run the risk of being killed or made prisoners. "It was necessary, therefore, to yield to evidence, and it was, besides, impossible any longer to mistake the truth of what was stated, when these columns, filing off as they arrived, made a fierce attack on our right. Part of the sixth corps was sent to support this "It results from the accounts, that part of Marshal Blucher's army, which, after the battle of the 16th, had carefully concentrated itself near Wavre, had concealed its march from Marshal Grouchy; and that after being rejoined by the fourth Prussian corps under General Bulow, had with great expedition re-approached the English line, to co-operate with the Duke of Wellington. "Marshal Grouchy had, in fact, pursued the Prussians closely in their retreat upon Wavre, and had in that place attacked the portion of their army which remained there. He was fighting, at the very time that we were also engaged, against some small corps, which he mistook for the whole of the Prussian army, over which he continued to gain signal advantages. "These corps, however, being favoured by the difficulties of a mountainous country, opposed him with resistance obstinate enough, if not to arrest his march, at least to retard it considerably. They thus succeeded in engaging him at a sufficient distance from the place where the business was really to be decided, and thus prevented his having any share in that decision. For this reason he was of no assistance to us; and thus the English received a considerable reinforcement, whose intervention, which they well knew how to value, and which was also foreseen, enabled them not only to be fearless of our most vigorous attempts, but to resume against us the offensive, and shortly to overpower us. They therefore re-assumed an entire confidence; and, calculating their dispositions from the favourable circumstances which presented themselves, they resisted with all their strength, and with an ardour incessantly renewed. "It is, besides, evident, that this operation had been concerted between the two commanders-in-chief, and that the English defended their position with a steadiness so insuperable, only to give time to the Prussians for effecting this combined movement; on which depended the success of the battle, the commencement of which they hourly expected. "Buonaparte, who, in despite of all, appeared to have no doubt concerning the speedy arrival of Marshal Grouchy, and who, undoubtedly, persuaded himself that he pressed closely on the Prussian army, judged with a determination which nothing could alter, that the moment for deciding the day was arrived. He accordingly formed a fourth column of attack, composed almost entirely of the guard, and, after sending off to every point instructions for supporting this movemment on which the victory depended, directed it at the pas | of the train cut away the traces of the horses; the inde charge on Mont St. Jean. fantry, cavalry, all kinds of troops mixed and confounded together, no longer presented the appearance of any thing but an unformed mass, which nothing could stop, and which was flying in disorder along the high road and across the fields: a crowd of carriages on the sides of the road, followed the movement with precipitation, jostling altogether, and blocking up the road to such a degree, that there was no longer any passing. "These old warriors rushed upon the plain with the intrepidity one might expect from them: the whole army resumed its vigour, the fire was again lighted up along the line, the guard made several charges, but their efforts were constantly repulsed; being destroyed by a formidable artillery, which appeared to multiply. "These invincible grenadiers beheld their ranks shattered by the grape-shot; they closed them, however, with great coolness, still marching on without being intimidated; nothing arrested their progress, but death or serious wounds; but the hour of defeat was come; enormous masses of infantry, supported by an immense cavalry, to which we could no longer oppose any, our own being entirely destroyed, poured upon them with fury, and, surrounding them on all sides, summoned them to surrender: The guard never surrender-they die,' was their answer. From that time no more quarter was given them, almost the whole fell, fighting like desperadoes, beneath the strokes of sabres, or of bayonets: this horrible massacre continued as long as their resistance, but, at length, overpowered by forces vastly superior, and discouraged besides, from opposing themselves in vain to certain destruction, they quitted their ranks, and fell back in disorder to their first positions, with the design, no doubt, of there rallying again. "During these events in the centre, the Prussian coluinns having arrived on our right, continued to advance, and to press with ardour the few troops that were found on that point; a cannonading and a brisk "The guard, that immoveable phalanx, which, in fire of musketry were heard in the rear of our line, the greatest disasters, had always been the rallying and approached nearer and nearer; our troops sustain-point of the army, and had served it as a rampart, the d the combat as long as possible, but they gradually lost ground. At last our right wing retrograded sensibly, and the Prussians, who were turning it, were on the point of bursting on the high road, when the report was circulated that the guard had been repulsed, and that its battalions, scattered and reduced to a small number, were seen to retire with precipitation. A general panic now spread itself throughout the army, who dispersed in all directions, and sought their safety in the most precipitate flight: in vain did Buonaparte collect together, for one last effort, a few battalions of the young and old guard, who had not yet given way, and conducted them ouce more against the enemy, who had already issued en masse from their positions; all was ineffectual; intimidated by what was passing around them, and overwhelmed by numbers, this feeble re-pursuit. While some squadrons, proceeding along the serve was speedily overthrown. "Nevertheless, no cry of Save who can! was to be heard, and this general rout was the consequence of a spontaneous movement, the causes of which are unknown, or which it would be very difficult to assign, if it were not natural to attribute them to the account which the soldier knew how to render to himself, of the perilous position in which we were placed. "The French soldier is never like almost all those" of other nations, entirely passive; he observes, he reasons, and, in no case, does he yield a blind obedience to his chiefs, so as to neglect submitting their operations to his own judgment; no point of direction had been given, and there was no word of command to be heard; the general and other chiefs, lost in the crowd, and hurried on by it, were separated from their corps ; there did not exist a single battalion in the rear of which they could rally; and, since nothing had beer. provided to insure a reasonable retreat, how could they struggle against so complete a rout, such a one as was never heard of, hitherto in the French army, already assailed by so many disasters. "At this period the whole army, as if moved by one impulse, abandoned their positions, and retired like a torrent; the gunners quitted their pieces, the soldiers guard, in fine, the terror of the enemy, had been appalled, and was flying, dispersed among the multitude. Every one now prepared to save himself as he could; they pushed, they crowded; groups, more or less numerous, formed, and passively followed those by which they were preceded. "Some not daring to deviate from the high road, attempted to force themselves a passage through the carriages, with which it was covered: others directed their course to the right or left, as fancy guided; fear exaggerates every danger, and night, which was now gaining upon them, without being very dark, contributed greatly to increase the disorder. "The enemy, perceiving the confused flight of the army, instantly detached a large body of cavalry in road, fell suddenly on the medical stations, which had not time to be prepared for this assault, other fo.midable columns advanced on our flanks. "The carriages of the Buonaparte family, seized new |